The Three Things That We Live For

24 April 2013

Tokyo, Japan

We need to see life from a broader vision.

What we know as life, and this whole world, is through our senses. It is through seeing, hearing, touching, and understanding. The knowledge that we get through the five senses is of one level. There is another level which is higher than the knowledge that we get through the five sense, i.e., the knowledge which is through the intellect.

The knowledge from the intellect is superior to the knowledge through the senses.

We see the sun rising and the sun setting, but through the intellect we know that the sun is neither rising nor setting, it is the earth that rotates.

There is another knowledge which is even superior to the intellect. It is the intuitive knowledge. As human beings we all have the capability to tap into the intuitive knowledge, and that is spiritual knowledge. You go beyond time and space, and from there you see the reality. I think all of you have had this experience sometime or the other, whatever your intellect says, your gut feeling is different. Have you had this experience?

You had a strong intuition, but your logic said something different. Your intuition was completely different, and that is what happened. How many of you have had that experience? (Many raised their hands)

Everybody has this faculty but don't know how to use it.

It is like, you have a treasure box but you have locked it and you don't have the key, and do not know what to do with it. Also it is like having a computer and not knowing the password. Your phone is locked, and you don't know the keyword, you don’t know how to open it. Though we have the phone we are unable to use it because it is locked. Though we have the iPad, it doesn't open because it is locked and we have forgotten the keyword. It is the same in our life.

Our body has access to many dimensions of reality, and we have the ability to attain these levels, to fulfill the desires of others, only if we have the password. As simple as that, yet very profound.

Just one password and your computer opens. Once the computer opens, you have all the information. The connectedness to the universal energy; universal force, from within us is necessary. Once that connection happens, nothing whatsoever in the universe can bring down your smile, energy, enthusiasm, joy and your intellectual brilliance. This is why the spiritual techniques are there, to get you to the precious realms of your own life.

Just think, what is that you want in your life? You will get three answers. First and foremost, you will say, ‘Happiness.’

Why do you want to work? Why do you want to earn money? So that you can be comfortable, so that you can be happy.

Second is love. Suppose there is no love in your life, would you like to live on this planet? You won’t. Just imagine that nobody loves you on this planet, and you don't love anybody, then why do you have to be here?

So, happiness, love, and the third thing is knowledge.

These are the three things that everybody lives for, and they are of priority – love, happiness and knowledge.

Love is something that you cannot hide. If there is love in your heart, you can see it in your actions; it comes out in your expressions, on your face, and you can see it in the eyes.

You just look into anybody's eyes and you can see whether they are worried, tensed, angry or in love. You look into the eyes of a small baby, a puppy, a dog, they all express that love. There is one binding force in the whole universe in which all the atoms are bound, in which the trees are growing, animals are existing, wind is blowing, the earth is revolving, and that power is love.

Love cannot be hidden, at the same time you cannot express it fully. Nobody can express it totally, the more you express, you feel that something is lacking. You cannot express it hundred percent.

Then comes truth – you cannot avoid truth, one day you have to face it. Just by closing your eyes, the day does not turn into night and the night does not turn into day. Truth is there and you cannot avoid it. And you cannot define truth. It is so big that you cannot define it.

Similarly death; all of us are going to die one day. We are all going to get old, you can’t avoid it.

The third thing is beauty. Beauty cannot be renounced or possessed.

All the problems that happen in the world is because of this. We try to avoid the truth and we get into problems; we try to express love fully and we get into problems; we try to possess beauty and we get into in problems.

Can you renounce beauty? If you can renounce it, then it is not beauty.

Can you possess beauty? You cannot possess it.

So this is the essence of today’s wisdom. If you just keep this in mind, you will find that this helps you in your day-to-day life to a great extent.

Questions & Answers

I am presently a yoga teacher. My biggest problem is how to inspire people? People are not inspired. What is the best advice you could give a teacher to inspire people.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Ask them these three things: Do you want to be happy? Do you want to be healthy? Do you want to have more time in your day-to-day life? If yes, come do yoga.
You give me 10 minutes, I will give you two hours. If you do 10 minutes of yoga, you get energy which is equivalent to two hours or more.

One can sleep lesser and deeper, feel energetic, happier, and so much love for everybody with the practice of yoga. What more do you want?

First of all, remove this idea from your mind, ‘Oh, nobody is motivated, nobody comes’, you should not have this thought in your mind. You must know you have something that everybody wants and needs, and they will come.

In our mind if we think, ‘Oh, nobody is motivated, nobody wants to come’, then nobody comes. Every day new yoga centers are opening in Tokyo that means people want it.